Robot device

ABSTRACT

In a robot device, its functions and performance can be improved with ease. According to the present invention, control means detachably mounted on a prescribed component unit for driving and controlling each of the component units in a prescribed state is provided and thereby, the control means can be easily exchanged for a new one. Thus the robot device in which its functions and performance can be improved can be realized. Further, according to the present invention, a robot device comprises storing means detachably mounted on the prescribed component unit for storing desired behavior type information and thereby, the storing means can be readily exchanged for storing means storing behavior type information different from the behavior type information stored in the former storing means. Thus, the robot device in which its functions and performance can be improved with ease can be realized.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a robot device and more particularly,is suitably applied to an autonomous moving type robot.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] As this type of robots, a variety of robots have been known suchas a four-foot walking type as illustrated in FIG. 1A, a two-footwalking type as illustrated in FIG. 1B, a vehicle type as illustrated inFIG. 1C and a two-wheel driving type as illustrated in FIG. 1D.

[0005] Ordinarily, these kinds of robots operate in accordance withtheir configurations by executing an operation program corresponding tothe configurations, such as the two-foot walking type or the four-footwalking type, by a general purpose computer accommodated in a body unitor a central processing unit (CPU) mounted on a CPU board.

[0006] Recently, as one of these type of robots, component units, suchas a body unit and a head unit, for forming the robot are connectedtogether using serial buses and thereby, the CPU detects the connectingmechanisms of these component units in order to automatically decide theconfiguration of the robot based on the detection result.

[0007] Further, one of this type of robots divides an operation programinto a host program (hereinafter, referred to as a host operationprogram) for supplying a general operation instruction such as “moveforward”, “move backward”, etc. which does not depend on theconfiguration of the robot and a subordinate program (hereinafter,referred to as a subordinate operation program) for driving andcontrolling the component units to respective states depending on theconfiguration of the robot in order to actually move the robot inaccordance with the above instruction. Thus, the host operation program,which does not depend on the configuration of the robot, can be utilizedcommonly between different robots.

[0008] In addition to this, the component units of the robot aredetachably connected together using serial buses, a CPU classifies theconfiguration of the robot and it is decided based on the classificationresult how operation program is selected, that is to say, what purpose(for instance, right foot or left foot) the component units are operatedfor. Accordingly, even when the configuration of the robot is changed bychanging the connecting mechanism of the component units, an operationprogram corresponding to the configuration can be automatically selectedand executed.

[0009] However, while detachably connecting the component units usingthe serial buses can give freedom to the design of the robot, a robotwhich is monolithically designed in advance so as not to be changed itsconfiguration, can give more freedom to its design or can be moreinexpensively manufactured. In this connection, monolithically designinga robot in such a manner can be regarded as a special case of methodsfor detachably connecting the component units and can ensure thegeneralization of the host operation program.

[0010] For this type of the robots, a method has been considered inwhich a CPU board is detachably mounted in a body unit using a parallelbus such as a Versa Module Europe (VME) bus or a peripheral componentinterconnect (PCI) bus. This method has an advantage in that performanceof the CPU is improved twice as high as the previous year every year andthe CPU board can be exchanged for a CPU board loaded with a CPU whoseperformance is improved.

[0011] However, according to the aforementioned method, since anoperation program (a subordinate operation program in the case of ahierarchical structure) is written in a memory provided on the CPUboard, it is necessary to download the aforementioned operation program(or a subordinate operation program) to a memory of a new CPU boardusing a host computer to which the CPU board can make access, every timewhen exchanging the CPU board. Therefore, the exchanging operation ofthe CPU board has been troublesome, so that the CPU board can notreadily be exchanged for a new CPU board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In view of the foregoing, an object of this invention is toprovide a robot device in which its functions and performance can beimproved with ease.

[0013] The foregoing object and other objects of the invention have beenachieved by the provision of a robot device constructed by connectingplural component units together, which comprises control means which isdetachably mounted on a prescribed component unit and used for drivingand controlling each of the component unit in a prescribed state.

[0014] As a result, the control means can be easily exchanged.

[0015] Further, according to the present invention, a robot device whichis constructed by connecting plural component units together, comprisesstoring means which is detachably mounted on a prescribed component unitand used for storing desired behavior type information.

[0016] Consequently, the storing means can be readily exchanged forstoring means in which different behavior type information is stored.

[0017] Furthermore, according to the present invention, a robot deviceconstructed by connecting plural component units together comprisesfirst storing means for storing configuration information whichrepresents a configuration of the robot device constructed by connectingthe component units together with unit information inherent in eachcomponent unit; second storing means for storing a prescribed operationprogram; and control means for reading out the configuration informationand the operation program from the first and the second storing meansrespectively, changing the read configuration information in accordancewith additional component units connected to respective component units,and driving and controlling each of the component units and additionalcomponent units in a prescribed state on the basis of the changedconfiguration information and operation program.

[0018] As a consequence, even when changing the configuration of therobot, the configuration information and the operation program do notneed to be rewritten and the control means can be used as it is withoutchanging in order to drive and control each of the component units in aprescribed state. Thus, the configuration of the robot can be changedwith ease.

[0019] The nature, principle and utility of the invention will becomemore apparent from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts aredesignated by like reference numerals or characters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In the accompanying drawings:

[0021]FIGS. 1A to 1D are diagrammatic perspective views explainingconfigurations of various robots;

[0022]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a configurationof a robot in a first embodiment according to the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a block diagram explaining the connection between acontrol unit, a memory unit and a body unit;

[0024]FIG. 4 is a conceptual view showing a tree structure forrepresenting configuration information;

[0025]FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the circuit of the control unit;

[0026]FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the circuit of the robot;

[0027]FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a configurationof a robot in a second embodiment according to the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the circuit of a control unit;

[0029]FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the circuit of the robot;

[0030]FIG. 10 is a conceptual view showing a tree structure forrepresenting information on configuration changed by connecting anadditional component unit;

[0031]FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram explaining the connectionbetween a control unit, a memory unit and a body unit according to otherembodiments; and

[0032]FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a robotaccording to other embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

[0033] Preferred embodiments of this invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings:

[0034] (1) First Embodiment

[0035] (1-1) Configuration of Robot According to First Embodiment

[0036] In FIG. 2, 1 designates a robot according to a first embodimentas a whole, which is monolithically constructed; thigh units 3 to 6 andleg units 7 to 10 are successively connected to the front, rear, rightand left corner parts below a body unit 2 respectively, and a neck unit11 and a head unit 12 are successively connected to the central part ofa front end part on the upper surface of the body unit 2. In thefollowing description, the body unit 2, the thigh units 3 to 6, the legunits 7 to 10, the neck unit 11 and the head unit 12 are calledcomponent units 2 to 12 collectively.

[0037] Further, first and second slots 2A and 2B are provided on theside surface of the rear end side of the body unit 2. A control unit 15composed of a personal computer (PC) card is detachably mounted in thefirst slot 2A and a memory unit 16 composed of a PC card is detachablymounted in the second slot 2B.

[0038] In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, a CPU 17 or the like forcontrolling the action of the robot 1 is accommodated in the controlunit 15. Besides, a nonvolatile memory (hereinafter, referred to as amemory) 18, such as a mask read only memory (ROM) or a flash ROM. isaccommodated in the memory unit 16. In the memory 18, information(hereinafter, referred to as behavior type information) on what type ofbehavior, such as for a pet, dancing or a combat, the robot 1 performsfor is previously stored as an application program.

[0039] Further, the body unit 2 contains a memory 19 such as a flashROM. In the memory 19, an operation program (hereinafter, referred to asa basic operation program) and a configuration program are previouslystored: the basic operation program for making the robot 1 perform abasic action, which is composed of a hierarchical structure comprising ahost operation program and a program (hereinafter, referred to as anintermediate operation program) being a part of a subordinate operationprogram to supply an action instruction, such as “stand up” and “sitdown”, depending on an operation instruction supplied from the hostoperation program; and the configuration information for representingvarious kinds of information (hereinafter, referred to as unitinformation collectively), such as a role (“head”, “neck”, etc.), aformation and a position of the center of gravity, for each of thecomponent units 2 to 12 with a tree structure showing the connectingcondition of the component units 2 to 12, as shown in FIG. 3, inaccordance with the configuration of the robot 1 (for example, afour-foot walking type).

[0040] In the robot 1, when the control unit 15 or the memory unit 16 ismounted in the first slot 2A or the second slot 2B of the body unit 2and they are held in the body unit 2, the memories 19 and 18 of the bodyunit 2 and the memory unit 16 are electrically connected to the CPU 17of the control unit 15 through a card bus 20.

[0041] Thus, when the control unit 15 and the memory unit 16 are held inthe body unit 2, the CPU 17 reads the configuration information and thebasic operation program from the memory 19 of the body unit 2 and theapplication program from the memory 18 of the memory unit 16 so as tomake the robot 1 drive according to its configuration and behavior typesbased on the read configuration information, the basic operation programand the application program.

[0042] Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in practice, in the robot 1, whenthe control unit 15 is mounted in the first slot 2A of the body unit 2and the memory unit 16 is mounted in the second slot 2B, an serial bushost (SBH) 26 for controlling a serial bus in the body unit 2 and thememory 18 in the memory unit 16 are electrically connected to the CPU 17of the control unit 15 via a first CPU bus 21, a bus use switcher 22, asecond CPU bus 23, a card bus interface 24 and a card bus 20sequentially. In this connection, the memory 19 is electricallyconnected to the SBH 26 via a HUB (distributor) 27 in the body unit 2.

[0043] At this time, a battery 31 in the body unit 2 is electricallyconnected to a battery manager 30 of the control unit 15 through thecard bus 20. The CPU 17, when power is supplied from the battery 31successively through the card bus 20, the battery manager 30, aperipheral interface 32, the second CPU bus 23, the bus use switcher 22and the first CPU bus 21, reads out an operating system (OS) previouslystored in a memory 33 such as a flash ROM therefrom and downloads theread out operating system to a SDRAM 36 successively through a ROMinterface 34, the second CPU bus 23 and a SD-random access memory(SDRAM) interface 35 and reads the operation system from the SDRAM 36through the first CPU bus 21 to start.

[0044] Further, the CPU 17 reads out the configuration information fromthe memory 19 via the HUB 27 and the SBH 26 in the body unit 2 and then,downloads the read configuration information to the SDRAM 36 via the HUB27, the SBH 26, the card bus 20, the card bus interface 24, the secondCPU bus 23 and the SDRAM interface 35 successively.

[0045] Then, the CPU 17 reads out the configuration information from theSDRAM 36 via the first CPU bus 21 to recognize the configuration of therobot 1 based on the read configuration information.

[0046] Further, the bus use switcher 22 gives the using right for thesecond CPU bus 23 to a direct memory access (DMA) controller 37 underthe control of the CPU 17, so that the DMA controller 37 reads out theapplication program from the memory 18 in the memory unit 16 under thecontrol of the CPU 17 and downloads the read application program to theSDRAM 36 via the card bus 20, the card bus interface 24, the second CPUbus 23 and the SDRAM interface 35 successively.

[0047] Then, the CPU 17 reads out the application program from the SDRAM36 through the first CPU bus 21 to recognize the behavior type of therobot 1 based on the read application program.

[0048] Under this state, the CPU 17 reads out the basic operationprogram from the memory 19 in the body unit 2 through a route similar tothe aforementioned case of reading the configuration information,downloads the read basic operation program to the SDRAM 36 and then,reads out the basic operation program from the SDRAM 36 through thefirst CPU bus 21 to start it.

[0049] Accordingly, the CPU 17, when receiving a prescribed instructionsuch as “move forward” from the host operation program of the basicoperation program, generates control signals S1 corresponding to variouskinds of instructions, such as “raise a right leg”, which are necessaryfor the respective component units 3 to 12 except for the body unit 2 inorder to move the robot 1 forward based on the intermediate operationprogram of the basic operation program and the configurationinformation, and supplies these control signals S1 to the HUB 27 via theSBH 26 in the body unit 2.

[0050] In this case, HUBs 40 accommodated in the respective thigh parts3 to 6 and the neck part 11 are electrically connected to the HUB 27 ofthe body unit 2 through serial buses 41 and moreover, HUBs 40 housed inthe respective leg units 7 to 10 and the head unit 12 are electricallyconnected to the HUBs 40 in the thigh units 3 to 6 and the neck unit 11through serial buses 41, respectively.

[0051] Further, electronic parts 43 required for operations of anactuator and a sensor or the like are accommodated respectively in thethigh units 3 to 6, the leg units 7 to 10, the neck unit 11 and the headunit 12.

[0052] Thus, the control signals S1 supplied to the HUB 27 of the bodyunit 2 are supplied from the HUB 27 to the corresponding electronicparts 43 through the respective HUBs of the thigh units 3 to 6, the legunits 7 to 10, the neck unit 11 and the head unit 12.

[0053] In such a way, the CPU 17 controls and drives the electronicparts 43 in the thigh units 3 to 6, the leg units 7 to 10, the neck unit11 and the head unit 12 based on the corresponding control signals S1.Thus, each of the thigh units 3 to 6, the leg units 7 to 10, the neckunit 11 and the head unit 12 can perform required actions, for example,for moving the robot 1 forward.

[0054] In this connection, when the control unit 15 is mounted in thefirst slot 2A of the body unit 2, a parallel input/output (PIO) 55 or aserial communication control (SCC) 56 connected to the second CPU bus 23through the peripheral interface 32 is electrically connected to ancorresponding external terminal 57A or 57B provided in the body unit 2through the card bus 20.

[0055] Accordingly, the robot 1 can execute a debugging process in thecontrol unit 15, for example, using a personal computer (not shown)which can be connected to the external terminal 57A or the 57B, throughthe parallel input/output 55 or the serial communication control 56.

[0056] Besides, the control unit 15 is provided with a timer 58connected to the second CPU bus 23. For instance, the timer 58 is usedwhen an interactive operation is necessary for operation of the CPU 17.

[0057] (1-2) Operation and Effects according to the First Embodiment

[0058] In the robot 1 with the aforementioned construction, the controlunit 15 and the memory unit 16 are mounted in the first and second slot2A and 2B of the body unit 2 respectively, so that the CPU 17 of thecontrol unit 15 reads out the application program from the memory 18 ofthe memory unit 16 and also reads out the configuration information andthe basic operation program from the memory 19 in the body unit 2.

[0059] In this robot 1, the CPU 17 recognizes the configuration of therobot 1 based on the configuration information as well as the behaviortype of the robot 1 based on the application program. Under this state,the CPU 17 drives and controls the electronic parts 43 of the respectivecomponent units 3 to 12 based on the basic operation program and theconfiguration information, in order to perform operations correspondingto instructions supplied from the host program of the basic operationprogram.

[0060] In this case, in the robot 1, the basic operation program isstored in the memory 19 in the body unit 2 and only the operation systemis stored in the memory 33 in the control unit 15 which is detachablyattached to the body unit 2. Therefore, even when the control unit 15 isexchanged for a new one, the basic operation program does not need to bedownloaded to a memory 33 in a new control unit 15.

[0061] Accordingly, in the robot 1, the existing control unit 15 can beexchanged for a control unit in which a CPU whose performance isimproved is accommodated.

[0062] Further, since only the operation system is stored in the memory33 of the control unit 15 as stated above, the control unit 15 can beused for other robots. Therefore, the general purpose of the controlunit 15 can be improved.

[0063] In addition, the robot 1 can drive and control the componentunits 3 to 12 except for the body unit 2 in the respective prescribedstates based on the configuration information and the intermediateoperation program, so that the, structure of the basic operation programcan be more simplified than that of the operation program having ahierarchical structure comprising the host operation program and thesubordinate operation program.

[0064] Further, according to the robot 1, the memory unit 16 can bereadily exchanged for a new one similarly to the control unit 15. Inother words, the robot 1 can perform an action of different kind ofbehavior type only by mounting a memory unit 16 having different kind ofbehavior type information in the second slot 2B of the body unit 2.

[0065] With the aforementioned construction, the configurationinformation and the basic operation program are stored in the memory 19of the body unit 2 and the configuration information and the basicoperation program are read out from the CPU 17 of the control unit 15,which is detachably mounted in the first slot 2A of the body unit 2, atthe time of operation of the robot 1. Thereby, the control unit 15 canbe readily exchanged for a new control unit in which a CPU whoseperformance is improved is accommodated and thus, the robot capable ofsimply improving its performance and functions can be realized.

[0066] Furthermore, the memory unit 16 is also detachably mounted andheld in the second slot 2B of the body unit 2 similarly to the body unit15, so that the memory unit 16 can be readily exchanged for a memoryunit 16 which contains a memory 18 storing behavior type informationdifferent from that of stored in the memory 18 of the former memory unit16. Accordingly, a robot capable of simply improving its functions andperformance can be realized.

[0067] (2) Second Embodiment

[0068] (2-1) Configuration of Robot According to Second Embodiment

[0069]FIG. 7 in which the same reference numerals are applied to partscorresponding to FIG. 2 shows a robot 50 according to a secondembodiment. The robot 50 is constructed substantially similarly to therobot 1 according to the first embodiment except that prescribedcomponent units (hereinafter, referred to as additional component units)52, such as a tail unit, are newly and detachably connected toconnection parts 51A provided at plural prescribed positions of a bodyunit 51 in addition to the component units 3 to 12 except for the bodyunit 51 and that configuration information is changed by a control unit53 in accordance with the connections of the additional component units52.

[0070] In FIGS. 8 and 9 in which the same reference numerals are appliedto parts corresponding to FIGS. 5 and 6, the body unit 51 has a memory54 in which the positional information of a connection point P1corresponding to each connection part 51A of an HUB 55 is stored inaddition to the basic operation program and the configurationinformation (indicating the configuration of the robot 50 beforeconnecting the additional component units 52) and a connector (notshown) connected to the HUB 55 through a serial bus 41 provided in eachof the connection parts 51A.

[0071] Each additional component unit 52 contains an HUB 40 andelectronic parts 43 similarly to the component units 3 to 12 except forthe body unit 51 and has a connector (not shown) connected to the HUB 40with a serial bus 41. The additional component unit 52 is physicallyconnected to the corresponding connection part 51A of the body unit 51,so that the HUB 40 can be electrically connected to the HUB 55 of thebody unit 51 with the serial bus 41.

[0072] Further, the additional component unit 52 contains a nonvolatilememory 56, such as a mask ROM or a flash ROM, storing unit informationcorresponding to the additional component unit 52.

[0073] The robot 50, when the control unit 53 is mounted in the firstslot of the body unit 51 to start the CPU 57 of the control unit 53 andan operation system read out from a memory 33, reads out theconfiguration information and the positional information from a memory54 in the body unit 51 to download them to an SDRAM 36, and reads outthe unit information stored in the memory 56 of the additional componentunit 52 via an SBH 26, an HUB 55 and a serial bus 41 of the body unit 51and the HUB 40 of the additional component unit 52 successively todownload it to the SDRAM 36.

[0074] Then, the CPU 57, as illustrated in FIG. 10, reads out thedownloaded configuration formation, positional information and unitinformation from the SDRAM 36 and changes a tree structure according tothe configuration of the robot 50 before connecting the additionalcomponent units 52 to the body unit 51 to a tree structure according tothe configuration of the robot 50 after connecting the additionalcomponent units 52 to the body unit 51, based on these readconfiguration information, positional information and unit information,in order to change the configuration information.

[0075] Thus, the CPU 57 can recognize as to which additional componentunit 52 is connected to which connection part 51A of the body unit 51and as to how the configuration of the robot 50 is resultantly changed,based on thus changed configuration information (hereinafter, referredto as changed configuration information).

[0076] Further, once the CPU 57 downloads the changed configurationinformation to the SDRAM 36 and also downloads the basic operationprogram to the SDRAM 36 by reading out it from the memory 54 in the bodyunit 51.

[0077] Then, the CPU 57 reads out the changed configuration informationfrom the SDRAM 36 and also reads out the basic operation program tostart it. Thus, the CPU 57, when receiving a prescribed instruction,such as “move forward”, from the host operation program of the basicoperation program, the CPU 57 generates control signals S2 according tovarious kinds of instructions, such as “raise a right leg”, which arenecessary for the respective component units 3 to 12 except for the bodyunit 51 and the additional component units 52 in order to move the robot50 forward, based on the intermediate operation program of the basicoperation program and the changed configuration information and suppliesthese control signals S2 to the respective component units 3 to 12except for the body unit 51 and the additional component units 52 fromthe HUB 27 of the body unit 51.

[0078] Thus, the CPU 57 drives and controls the electronic parts 43 ofthe component units 3 to 12 except for the body unit 51 and theadditional component units 52 based on the corresponding control signalsS2. Therefore, the respective component units 3 to 12 except for thebody unit 51 and the additional component units 52 can performrespective required actions for moving the robot 1 forward.

[0079] (2-2) Operation and Effects According to Second Embodiment

[0080] According to the robot 50 with the aforementioned construction,the CPU 57 in the control unit 53 changes the configuration informationto changed configuration information according to the configuration ofthe robot 50 after connecting the additional component units 52 to thebody unit 51, based on the configuration information and positionalinformation read from the memory of the body unit 51 and the unitinformation read from the memory 56 of the additional component units 52connected to the body unit 51.

[0081] Further, in the robot 50, the CPU 57 drives and controls theelectronic parts 43 of the component units 3 to 12 except for the bodyunit 51 and the additional component units 52 based on the basicoperation program and the configuration information, so that the robot50 whose configuration is changed operates depending on instructionssupplied from the host program of the basic operation program.

[0082] In this case, in the robot 50, since the basic operation programis previously stored in the memory 54 of the body unit 51, the controlunit 53 can be simply exchanged for a new control unit withoutdownloading the basic operation program to a memory 33 at the time ofchanging the control unit 53.

[0083] Further, in this robot 50, even when the additional componentunits 52 are connected to the body unit 51 to change the configurationof the robot 50, it is not necessary to download a basic operationprogram according to a new configuration of the robot 50 to the memory33 of the control unit 53, so that the configuration of the robot 50 canbe changed with ease.

[0084] As a result, in the robot 50, one control unit 53 can readilycope with the change of configuration of the robot 50 and can also besimply applied to other robots regardless of the configurations of therobots. Therefore, the generalization of the control unit 53 can be moreimproved than that of the robot 1 (FIG. 2) according to theaforementioned first embodiment.

[0085] According to the aforementioned construction, the configurationinformation and the basic operation program are stored in the memory 54of the body unit 51 and the configuration information and the basicoperation program are read out from the memory 54 in the body unit 51 bythe control unit 53 detachably mounted in the first slot of the bodyunit 51 so that the robot 50 is operated based on the read configurationinformation and basic operation program and thereby, the control unit 53can be readily exchanged. Thus, a robot capable of simply improving itsfunctions and performance can be realized.

[0086] Furthermore, even when the additional component units 52 areconnected to the body unit 51 so that the configuration of the robot 50is changed, the configuration information is changed in accordance withthis change. Therefore, the configuration of the robot 50 can be simplychanged and a robot capable of simply improve its function andperformance can be realized.

[0087] (3) Other Embodiments

[0088] According to the aforementioned first and second embodiments, thepresent invention is applied to the four-foot walking type robot 1, 50.However, the present invention is not limited thereto but can be appliedto robots with other kinds of configurations such as a two-foot walkingtype, a vehicle type, a two-wheeled driving type or modified types ofthem.

[0089] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the control unit 15, 53 and the memory unit 16 mounted inthe first and second slots 2A and 2B of the body unit 2, 51 areelectrically connected together with the card bus 20 in the body unit 2,51. However, the present invention is not limited thereto but the bodyunit 2, 51, the control unit 15, 53 and the memory part 16 can beconnected in series as shown in FIG. 11.

[0090] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the CPU 17, 57 operate the robot 1 in accordance withoperation instructions supplied from the host program of the basicoperation program. However, the present invention is not limited theretobut a third slot (not shown) can be provided on the body unit 81 of arobot 80 in addition to the first and second slots as shown in FIG. 12in which the same reference numerals are applied to parts correspondingto FIG. 3, a communication unit 82 which is composed of a PC card andwhich contains a radio local area network (LAN) can detachably bemounted in the third slot in order to electrically connect thecommunication unit 82 to the control unit 15 with the card bus 20, sothat the CPU 17 can operate the robot 80 based on operation instructionsobtained from the outside via the communication unit 82. Furthermore,the robot can be operated based on operation instructions obtained fromthe outside using other various media, such as the case where the CPU17, 57 can operate the robot based on operation instructions obtainedfrom the outside with ethernet or the like.

[0091] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the control unit 15, 53, the memory unit 16 and the bodyunit 2, 51 are electrically connected together with the card bus 20.However, the present invention is not limited thereto but the controlunit 15, 53, the memory unit 16 and the body unit 2, 51 can beelectrically connected together with buses having other various typesstructures in place of the card bus 20.

[0092] Further, according to the aforementioned first embodiment, thebasic operation program and the configuration information are previouslystored in the memory 19 in the body unit 2. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto but the operation program having ahierarchical structure comprising the host operation program and thesubordinate operation program can be previously stored in the memory 19in the body unit 2 and the robot 1 can be actuated by the CPU 17 onlybased on the operation program without employing the configurationinformation.

[0093] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the basic operation program having a hierarchical structurecomprising the host operation program and the intermediate operationprogram is previously stored in the memory 19, 54 in the body unit 2,51. However, the present invention is not limited thereto but theintermediate operation program of the basic operation program can bepreviously stored in the memory 19, 54 in the body unit 2, 51, and thehost operation program of the basic operation program can be previouslystored in the memory 18 in the memory unit 16.

[0094] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the basic operation program is previously stored in thememory 19, 54 in the body unit 2, 51. However, the present invention isnot limited thereto but the basic operation program stored in the memory19, 54 in the body unit 2, 51 can be rewritten as required.

[0095] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the robot 1 is operated by the CPU 17, 57 of the controlunit 15, 53 based on the basic operation program and the configurationinformation. However, the present invention is not limited thereto butthe control unit can be provided with a learning function for learningoperations as the robot repeats a variety of operations and the basicoperation program and the configuration information can be rewrittenbased on the learning result. Besides, the basic operation programand/or the configuration information, which is rewritten based on thelearning result, can be mated with the basic operation program and/orthe configuration information similarly rewritten based on the learningresult of a robot having the same configuration or a differentconfiguration, by using a genetic algorithm.

[0096] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the memory 19, 54 previously storing the basic operationprogram and the configuration information is accommodated in the bodyunit 2, 51. However, the present invention is not limited thereto butthe memory 19, 54 can be accommodated in any of the component units 3 to12 except for the body unit 2, 51 or the additional component units 52,or a memory in which only the basic operation program is previouslystored and a memory in which the configuration information is previouslystored can be accommodated in respectively different any of thecomponent units 2 to 12 or in the additional component units 52, as longas the memory 19, 54 in which the basic operation program and theconfiguration are previously stored can electrically connected to thecontrol unit 15, 53.

[0097] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the memory unit 16 containing a memory in which behaviortype information is stored is mounted in the second slot 2B of the bodyunit 2, 51. However, the present invention is not limited thereto butand a memory unit containing an extending memory can be mounted in thesecond slot 2B of the body unit 2, 51 in place of the memory unit 16 andvarious kinds of information can be stored in the extending memory ofthe memory unit as desired.

[0098] Further, according to the aforementioned second embodiment,plural connection parts 51A are provided on the body unit 51. However,the present invention is not limited thereto but connection parts can beprovided not only on the body unit 51 but also on the component units 3to 12 except for the body unit 51 to connect the additional componentunits 52 thereto.

[0099] Further, according to the aforementioned second embodiments, thebasic operation program is previously stored in the memory 54 in thebody unit 51. However, the present invention is not limited thereto butplural basic operation programs according to various configurations ofthe robot 50 can be previously stored in the memory of the memory unit16, so that a basic operation program according to configurationinformation changed depending on the connection of the additionalcomponent unit 52 to the body unit 51 is selected from these basicoperation programs to be used.

[0100] Further, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the control unit 15, 53 is used, which is monolithicallyand detachably held in a prescribed component unit as control means fordriving and controlling the component units in respective prescribedstates. However, the present invention is not limited thereto but othercontrol means having various types of formations or configurations canbe used as long as it can detachably held in a prescribed componentunit.

[0101] Furthermore, according to the aforementioned first and secondembodiments, the memory unit 16 is applied, which is monolithically anddetachably mounted in a prescribed component unit as storing means forstoring desired behavior type information stored. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto but storing means having various kindsof formations or configurations can be used as long as it can detachablyamounted in a prescribed component unit.

[0102] While there has been described in connection with the preferredembodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that various changes and modifications may be aimed, therefore, tocover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A robot device constructed by connecting pluralcomponent units together, comprising control means which is detachablymounted on said prescribed component unit, for driving and controllingeach of said component units in a prescribed state.
 2. The robot deviceaccording to claim 1, comprising storing means which is detachablymounted on said prescribed component unit, for storing desired behaviortype information, and said control means, wherein: said behavior typeinformation is read out from said storing means; and each of saidcomponent units is driven and controlled in accordance with said readbehavior type information.
 3. The robot device according to claim 2,wherein said storing means is a memory card.
 4. The robot deviceaccording to claim 1, comprising: first storing means which is held insaid prescribed component unit, for storing configuration informationwhich represents a configuration of said robot, which is constructed byconnecting said component units, with unit information inherent in eachof said component units; and second storing means for storing aprescribed operation program, and said control means, wherein: saidstored configuration information and operation program are read out fromsaid first and second storing means respectively; and each of saidcomponent units is driven and controlled in a prescribed states inaccordance with the read configuration information and operationprogram.
 5. The robot device according to claim 4, wherein saidconfiguration information is formed with a tree structure representingthe connecting condition of said component units.
 6. A robot drivingcontrol method for driving and controlling a robot constructed byconnecting plural component units, wherein control means detachablymounted on said prescribed component unit drives and controls each ofsaid component unit in a prescribed state.
 7. The robot driving controlmethod according to claim 6, wherein: desired behavior type informationis stored in storing means detachably mounted on said prescribedcomponent unit; and said control means reads out said behavior typeinformation from said control means, and drives and controls each ofsaid component units in accordance with said read behavior typeinformation.
 8. The robot driving control method according to claim 6,wherein: storing means held in said prescribed component unit, wherein:configuration information which represents a configuration of saidrobot, which is constructed by connecting said component units, withunit information inherent in each of said component units is stored; anda prescribed operation program is stored, and said control means,wherein: said stored configuration information and said stored operationprogram are read out from said storing means; and each of said componentunits is driven and controlled in a prescribed state in accordance withsaid read configuration information and operation program.
 9. A robotdevice constructed by connecting plural component units together,comprising storing means detachably mounted on said prescribed componentunit, for storing desired behavior type information.
 10. A robot deviceconstructed by connecting plural component units together, comprising:first storing means for storing configuration information whichrepresent a configuration of said robot, which is constructed byconnecting said component units, with unit information inherent in eachof said component units; second storing means for storing a prescribedoperation program; a single or a plurality of additional component unitsto be additionally connected to a single or a plurality of saidcomponent units; and control means for reading out said configurationinformation and said operation program from said first and secondstoring means respectively, for changing said read configurationinformation in accordance with said additional component units connectedto said component units, and for driving and controlling each of saidcomponent units and said additional component units in accordance withsaid changed configuration information and said read operation program.11. The robot device according to claim 10, wherein said configurationinformation is formed with a tree structure representing a connectingcondition of said component units.
 12. The robot device according toclaim 10, wherein said control means is detachably mounted on saidprescribed component unit.
 13. The robot device according to claim 10,comprising storing means which is detachably mounted on said prescribedcomponent unit, for storing desired behavior type information, and saidcontrol means reads out said behavior type information from said storingmeans, and drives and controls each of said component unit in aprescribed state in accordance with said read behavior type information,said changed configuration information and said operation program.
 14. Arobot driving control method for driving and controlling a robotconstructed by connecting plural component units and also constructed byadding and connecting a single and a plurality of additional componentunits to a single and a plurality of component units, wherein:configuration information which represents a configuration of saidrobot, which is constructed by connecting said component units, withunit information inherent in each of said component units is stored instoring means held in said prescribed component unit, and a prescribedoperation program is also stored therein; said configuration informationand said operation program are read out from said storing means; saidread configuration information is changed in accordance with informationon said additional component units connected to said component units;and each of said component units and said additional component units isdriven and controlled in accordance with said changed configurationinformation and said read operation program.